Army Can Help in Homeland Security

In its second of three reports, a National Research Council committee focuses on how the Army could assist the Department of Homeland Security and local first responders in their response to a catastrophic event. The greatest area of commonality among these three entities, the report concludes, is in the area of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Among the report's key recommendations is that the Army should work with senior DHS officials to "institutionalize a process for collaboration and sharing." The Army should also help DHS set up a research, development, testing, and evaluation infrastructure that would undergird the efforts of the first responders. The report defines infrastructure as an acquisition process, a systems engineering discipline, and testing and evaluation facilities. In addition to working with DHS to find areas for science and technology collaboration, the Army should also work with DHS to set up processes for joint--that is, civilian and military--operations.